Mario Kart Wii is by far one of the best, if not the best game out there for Wii. The game is standard Mario Kart fare, you pick a kart (or in this one a bike) and you take that kart or bike on a crazy course, and while racing a three lap race, you fight with the other eleven racers by using stuff like turtle shells and banana peels. This sounds like the basic Mario Kart formula that you have played a million times before, but let me tell you, there is enough fresh, new things in this game that makes it worth the $50 price tag.
The first thing that should be noted about this game is the motion controls using the Wii Wheel to control your car, rather than a joystick. Let me tell you, the motion controls work perfectly with amazing accuracy, they are very tight and you never feel like you are losing control of your vehicle while using the Wheel. Yes, there is a slight learning curve to the Wheel, which is why majority of die hards will skip it from the get go, but once you get used to the Wheel there is really no better way to play it. Still if you aren't sold on the Wii Wheel yet, there are still plenty other control schemes you can try, and all of them work very well; they include: the Wiimote without the Wheel, the Wiimote and Nunchuck combo, the Classic Controller, and the Gamecube Controller.
Now, as for the actual racing part, there isn't much different this time around, Nintendo following the classic saying of, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!", which is so very true. The weapons are the same, and many old tracks return with just a few slight tweaks to them to suit the new trick system, which besides the inclusion of bikes and motion control (and one other tiny thing I'll mention later) to the Mario Kart world, it is the only real new thing around this time. The trick system can be activated by just simply jolting the Wii Wheel up in the air when you go off a ramp, by doing this you will be granted a speed boost. Now onto the new tracks in the game, which where specifically designed for the new trick system, and let me say these are some of the most creative, and fun Mario kart tracks I've ever played, in particular ones such as: Toad's Factory, Mushroom Gorge, Maple Treeway, and Wario's Goldmine, steal the show. The new tracks are so much fun, that when you have to race one of the returning tracks from previous games in a circuit, it kind of feels like you are just going through the motions so you can get the cup, and you aren't truly enjoying yourself because the new tracks just blow the old ones out of the water. Of course, the biggest new inclusion to Mario Kart Wii is the online play via Wi-Fi.
Online play is where this game will have all of its longevity. The online play is smooth and fun, it is always real easy to find a match, with or without friend codes. The only downside to the online in this game is there is no voice chat, and that when you play with two players online the frame rate chugs a bit, but besides those two problems the online is almost perfect, and is Nintendo's best effort at online play thus far.
Overall, Mario Kart Wii is another solid entry into the classic racing franchise. With the motion controls and the online play, it is easily the most fun racing game I have probably ever played.
I give Mario Kart Wii a superb 10 out of 10!
